Titus Maccius Plautus, Epidicus

Ulrike Auhagen (Universität Freiburg)

Ed. by William John Dominik, University of Otago
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.1.2: Ancient Roman Writing and Culture (Republic and Empire), -750-476.
Vol. editors: Anca Dan (École Practique de Hautes Études PSL), Martine Diepenbroek (University of Johannesburg), William John Dominik (University of Otago), Giacomo Fedeli (University of Exeter), Victoria Fendel (University of Oxford), Thomas Habinek (University of Southern California), Emily Kneebone (University of Nottingham), Elodie Paillard (University of Sydney), Sophia Papaioannou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Guendalina Daniela Maria Taietti (University of Liverpool), Jula Wildberger (American University of Paris)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. -215 - -195

Places

Ancient Rome (Republic & Empire) (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Play

Resources

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Epidicum quam ego fabulam aeque ac me ipsum amo

– “The

Epidicus

, a play I love as much as myself”: In Plautus’ Comedy

Bacchides

the slave Chrysalus makes this metatheatrical statement (

Bacch.

214). The often discussed verse makes clear that Plautus must have appreciated his comedy

Epidicus

very much. Like

Pseudolus, Truculentus

and many other plays, it is named after its main character, the slave Epidicus, who dominates the action: The whole play is a demonstration of his enormous cleverness and his various improvised trickeries.

In spite of the author’s presumed fondness, the comedy – which, with only 733 verses, is one of his shortest plays – was not very highly esteemed by scholars. One reason for that might be the very intricate plot: Compared to other Plautine plays, the

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1292 words

Citation: Auhagen, Ulrike. "Epidicus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 April 2013 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=34721, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Titus Maccius Plautus, Epidicus

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